I had the spine-tingling pleasure of reviewing Bloober Team’s magnificent supernatural thriller, The Medium when it released earlier this year on Xbox and PC.  Now, after a short period of exclusivity, the game has made its way to the PS5 with noticeable enhancements that make the most of Sony’s next-gen system.  Interestingly enough, the improvements were all added five days after launch via an update patch, so those who played and possibly finished the game during that time didn’t get to enjoy those PS5 perks.  The Sept. 8, 2021 update added stunning new ray-tracing features to the already-amazing visuals as well as immersive haptic feedback for the DualSense controller as well as improved performance that greatly reduce loading times.  Thankfully the patch arrived while I was still writing this review and streaming the game so you can see actual gameplay of before the patch and after the patch.

So what is The Medium all about?   When first announced, this high-concept visual thriller promised to make the most of next-gen PC and console tech with its unique split-screen presentation that totally changes the way we see and play traditional adventure games.  This latest PS5 version certainly delivers on that promise.  The opening prologue sets up the narrative nicely, introducing us to Marianne, a young woman with the supernatural ability to see “the other side”; thus the split screen effect, but more on that in a bit.  We quickly learn that her adoptive father, Jack has just passed.  Jack owned and operated a funeral home, the perfect place for Marianne to discover and learn to use her ability to speak with the dead; something you’ll experience shortly as you prepare Jack for his final rest.

The Medium uses a clever split-screen device to show the same motion capture performance in two very different settings.  You’ll see what Marianne is doing in the real world as well as the underworld, often with shocking and disturbing variations.  Many of these interactions involve a young dead girl named Sadness, seemingly innocent while missing an arm and wearing a porcelain mask.  The game determines when the screen will split, making this more of a presentation plot device rather than an actual game mechanic, although you do have the option to focus on either side when making some choices.  An easy example are the Spirit Wells that Marianne can absorb energy from in the spirit world then dispense into fuse boxes that will activate items in the real world.

A large part of the game takes place at the Niwa resort; the location of a horrifying massacre.  The resort is now abandoned and fallen into disrepair, which adds plenty of clever exploration options to the game.  Crumbled walls, broken floors, and missing staircases might keep Marianne from moving forward in her world, but those same locations can often be navigated within the spirit world.  Marianne can also invoke an out of body experience that allows her to explore even more inaccessible areas within the spirit world, although there is a time limit to her spirit walks as well as at least one cool puzzle that requires this ability.

While the player has no control over when the screen will split they do have the ability to fully enter the underworld by touching and passing through various mirrors found throughout the game.  The visual effect looks just like the sepia tone split-screen, but these moments are played out in full-screen with no visual reference to reality.  This creates an almost portal-like system that helps Marianne navigate the broken architecture of the underworld as well as explore a crazy dollhouse later in the game.

Most of the game is pretty standard adventure genre material with you controlling Marianne as she explores her detailed surroundings looking for anything that can be viewed or interacted with; sometimes examining 3D objects, spinning them around, etc.  Most of the collectibles are pure info dumps, expanding upon the confusing narrative or simply adding flavor to the game, but there are numerous inventory items, most of which are used almost immediately after finding while others, like the bolt cutters, will serve you until the end of the game.

Puzzles are relatively straightforward, but I did enjoy the one that required finding masks and learning the names of the deceased to set their spirits free.  There was also a very cool puzzle where you moved the hands of a clock in the real world to manipulate time in the spirit world.  Near the end of the game there is an annoying water pump puzzle that seemed totally out of place with everything else up to that point.  It was fun to figure out, and all the necessary clues were right there in the room, but the overly complex solution just seemed to stall the momentum the game had been building up to that point.

You have a sensory ability that will light up the area around you, revealing key items and even highlight things from the spirit world in the real world; a useful ability during the game’s many stealth sequences.  There are situations where you will either be chased or forced to hide and sneak past a particularly nasty demon-like creature who wants to wear your skin.  Chase sequences merely require you to run along a linear path until you reach a safe zone, but the stealth sections have you crouching and even holding your breath to avoid detection.  There are only a few of these chase/stealth bits and they helped add some intensity and suspense to the overall game.

The Medium promises a next-gen presentation, not only with its split-screen design but by making the most of ray-tracing and HDR tech and the PS5 delivers an experience nearly on par with a high-end PC.  I initially started my review prior to the patch and the game still looked fantastic, but after the patch the visual experience was downright stunning.  All of the visual oddities and glitches I experienced on the PC and Xbox back in May were no longer an issue.  The PS5 delivers a pristine 4K image with excellent HDR that helps enhance the lighting and shadows of this sinister game world.

I had a great time with The Medium.  Even though it often felt like I was playing a Resident Evil game with the fixed camera angles and tank-like controls, there were some really great concepts in both presentation and gameplay.  There is some really great DualSense support that allows you to look around using the gyroscopic function of the controller, as well as pressure sensitive feedback on the triggers when using the bolt cutters, and plenty of immersive heartbeat thumping in the controller when sneaking around a certain demon.

The plot did meander in the middle with these odd excursions as a secondary character, Thomas, but even these became relevant as the story wrapped up near the end.  Speaking of the end, expect a twist and lots of speculation on what the hell just happened when the credits start to roll; even the post-credit stinger won’t help.  Having played all three versions of The Medium now, I can easily say the PS5 version is clearly the best and most polished of them all with ray-traced enhanced graphics, immersive controls, and much faster load screens.  If you haven’t experienced the thrills and chills of The Medium then now is the time and the PS5 is the best way to play.

Earlier this year I reviewed the PC version of Little Nightmares II, the sequel to the critically acclaimed original Little Nightmares released back in 2017.  Both games quickly became two of my favorites in what was becoming an increasingly robust library of side-scrolling adventures inspired by classics such as Limbo and Inside.  Now, several months later, those with next-gen consoles as well as PC gamers who may have missed out on the original or simply want to experience it all over again can do so with the Enhanced Edition.  If you already own the original game on PC, Xbox One or PS4 then you’ll get this upgrade for free.

So what exactly does Little Nightmares II Enhanced Edition bring to the table?  If you are playing on a PS5 or Xbox Series X|S you get a choice of two modes; a Beauty mode that runs at 30fps at 4K with optimized ray-tracing, and a Performance mode that locks the game at 60fps with a dynamic 4K resolution and ray-tracing.  Ray-tracing delivers incredibly realistic reflections to shiny surfaces in the game while improved lighting and shadow effects add even more immersion to the already-sinister worlds that Six and Mono must explore.  Even the particle effects have been enhanced, offering more detail in the shape and size of dust motes as well as realistic interactive responses when characters pass through them.  And finally, all of the audio has been expertly remixed for immersive 5.1 and 7.1 surround environments.  The PC version, which was already superior to last-gen consoles, also gets these improvements which are fully scalable in the options menu.

For this review I am focusing on the PS5 version, which I am playing for the first time, although I did play the Enhanced Edition on the PC as well – it was a free upgrade so why not – and I can say that the game looks and performs flawlessly on my RTX3080-equipped PC with everything set to Ultra settings.  I did have a few stutters during scene loading, but this was remedied by moving the game from a mechanical drive to my SSD.  It’s also worth noting that the Xbox Series X|S is not properly implementing ray-traced reflections at this time, and is instead using screen-space reflections (SSR), which still look good but are not as realistic as the ray-tracing featured on PC and PS5.

So for those who haven’t read the original review for Little Nightmares II what follows is that article with a few minor updates for features specific to the Enhanced Edition on the PS5.

Unlike the first adventure many things have changed in Little Nightmares II including; how you play, where you play, and even who you play.  No longer set onboard a cannibal cruise ship, we begin our story like so many other games of this genre, alone in the creepy woods.  Meet Mono, a frightened little boy with a sack on his head, alone in the woods.  Like the first game you are simply inserted into this world with no idea of what to do, where to go, and why you are doing any of this.  Oddly enough, you’ll still have most of these feelings and even more questions when the credits start to roll 6-8 hours later.  For now, it’s time to explore this wonderfully mysterious and terribly creepy new world.

If you played the first game then you will know exactly what to expect from Little Nightmares II, but there are also a few surprises tossed into the mix.  First, Six will quickly team up with Mono introducing a new AI co-op element to some of the puzzles and level traversal.  While not exactly a fresh idea it still adds something new to the design, plus having a companion along for the adventure will help ease that sense of loneliness, but it also enhances the tension of solitude when you become separated.  New commands allow you to shout out to Six and even hold her hand during times when you need to stick together or work as a team.

The original game had you collecting gnomes and smashing porcelain statues, but in Little Nightmares II you’ll be collecting hats and dispelling the spirits of lost children, both of which have tallies you can view in the chapter select menu.  I thought I was pretty thorough in my initial playthrough but only ended up with half the hats and spirits, so there are a lot of well-hidden secrets likely stashed in cleverly concealed areas.  The hats are a particularly nice feature that allows you to change up Mono’s appearance, and considering how much it rains in this game it felt really natural to wear the yellow rain cap for most of the game.  Other hats have specific functions when it comes to unlocking dozens of impossibly difficult Trophies – not difficult to complete but difficult in even knowing they exist.  There are at least 2-3 Trophies per chapter that you would never figure out even on accident, so prepare to consult a guide if you want to Platinum this game.

Both the original and the sequel are designed around a core of exploration, discovery, and solving a long list of moderately challenging puzzles.  There were probably 2-3 puzzles that had me stumped for more than five minutes, but that only made the “aha moment” of figuring them out that much sweeter.  New to Little Nightmares II is the addition of combat.  Mono can now pickup items like a pipe, axe, ladle or even a stick and start whacking at enemies; a concept that balances between fun and failure with equal success.  Early on you can smack the ground with a stick to reveal bear traps concealed in the blanket of leaves.  Later you will smash a small army of animated porcelain dolls that reminded me of Pinocchio, and a bit later you’ll lose your mind and your patience trying to whack these animated mannequin hands with a pipe as they skitter around like Alien face huggers.  Mono is very small and weak, so he must drag any of these larger weapons around reducing his movement speed, plus actually swinging the weapon requires a lengthy wind-up period with a momentary pause after impact.  You can’t go into these combat situations mashing buttons; you have to watch carefully for visual clues on when you should strike and they can be subtle.

Despite some original locations like a school and a hospital I couldn’t help but feel the designers were borrowing a lot of the visual design from the first game.  There were even some scenes/rooms that looked like they were lifted straight from the original.  But there were also some cool carryovers that tied the two game worlds together like the abundance of discarded shoes littering so many locations.  Even more sinister was finding these full sets of clothes lying about the world as if all the adults had been “raptured” or somehow abducted right out of their clothes.  That’s not to say all the adults are gone.  Each level has a terrifying boss character you must evade and somehow defeat.  Early on it’s a hunter in the woods then a medical examiner lurking in the hospital morgue, but perhaps the most terrifying adult in the game is the school teacher/librarian with this telescoping neck that will totally freak you out.  Oh yeah…there is one more adult that will cause you to lose sleep; the thin man from another dimension that crawls out of TV’s like that girl in The Ring.

Speaking of TV’s there is one particularly clever level that has you using a TV remote to turn on/off TV’s that can then be used as distractions for the zombie-like adults hypnotized by the static, or as teleport nodes that allow you to phase into one TV and exit from its matching set.  These create some pretty cool navigation puzzles and are a nice change of pace from the “find the key to use in the lock” puzzles found everywhere else.  Another innovation on puzzle design is this one area where you must use sound to navigate a maze of passages and stairs with multiple doors by listening in each doorway for the music.

Little Nightmares II looks and sounds amazing.  The art, shadows, textures, lighting, and animation are all fantastic with a dynamic camera that perfectly frames the action yet still allows you slight panning adjustments with the right stick.  The camera also seems to have a greater range of zoom with much of the game being played so that characters appear larger on the screen than they did in the first game, allowing you to appreciate all the subtle details, but the camera can just as easily pull way back revealing just how tiny these kids are as they make their way across a sinister skyline.  The water effects are ultra-realistic with rain falling, puddles pooling on the ground, thick streams of water spilling off of rooftops and gutters and sheets of water cascading down the sides of buildings.

Lighting plays a huge part of the game, not only in setting up the eerie and oppressive atmosphere but also when using your flashlight, which becomes a tactical weapon that can temporarily freeze some enemies when caught in its beam.  The addition of ray-tracing increases the realism with off-screen reflections as well a reflection clarity that is tied into the type of reflective surface.  The volumetric light and shadows are also greatly enhanced in this Enhanced Edition.

The sound design is perfection thanks to Tobias Lilja who created an amazing score that enhances the visuals and sets the mood along with sound effects ranging from realistic natural environmental sounds to some truly horrific supernatural effects.  The paranormal sounds coming from the TV broadcast are terrifying; almost as terrifying as the cries, groans, and screams of the adults when they are chasing you through a level, and the expert use of the newly remastered 5.1/7.1 surround mix will totally immerse you in the experience.  With all of the rain I would love to hear this in a Dolby Atmos mix, but the continuous water effects already had me taking numerous bathroom breaks so maybe not. You’ll definitely want to play this with the lights turned down and the sound turned up.

Overall I had a great time with Little Nightmares II.  There were brief moments of frustration; never with the puzzles but rather coming to grips with the combat timing and numerous moments where a lack of clear depth perception has me missing jumps, grabs, and swings because it was often unclear where Mono was positioned within the Z-axis of this 3D world in a 2D presentation.  There were at least two chase sequences that had me getting stuck on bits of the environment and one combat section with Mono vs 4-5 severed hands that took over 20 minutes to figure out.  Otherwise, controls were nice and responsive.

There were parts of the game that did seem to drag on.  The developers claim the game is twice as long as the first and I felt like an hour of this could have been cut or replaced with a sixth chapter.  There was this repetition of going in and out of buildings, scrambling across rooftops, zip lining down clotheslines with exterior streets and building interiors that all look remarkably similar and eventually got a bit boring.  Even major locations like the school and hospital started to get repetitive.  There was this intelligent design to the first game that all fit into the theme of being on a giant ship.  Little Nightmares II just seems to meander about various design themes, sometimes lingering too long in one place.

As much as I enjoyed Little Nightmares II the Enhanced Edition made the experience even better to the point where I fully completed the game a second time on PC then dove right into the PS5 version and completed it as well.  I had fun with the co-op moments and thankfully Six’s AI worked well with no glitches. There were plenty of cool design elements added to the gameplay, but I think the combat was unnecessary.   I found outsmarting enemies with a flashlight, TV remote, or smashing them with Home Alone-style traps far more rewarding than beating them with a lead pipe.

If you played and enjoyed the first game then this is a no-brainer as the upgrade is FREE.  Newcomers to the game are now going to get the premium experience, while existing players will have to decide if fancy graphics and immersive audio is worth a 6-8 hour replay.  While it doesn’t really continue the story of the first game Little Nightmares II does offer a horrifying peek into a much larger world that will leave you with more questions than you had going in.